Betancur abandons Vuelta after suffering heavy cuts to his face

Carlos Betancur will not be able to continue racing in the 2017 Vuelta a España after his crash in the descent of the Alto del Garbí, the final climb on stage six of the race.

The Movistar was sitting in 16th place overall and had shown his best performance so far in the Vuelta today, by making it into the seven-man GC group created by a series of attacks from Alberto Contador. However, the Colombian couldn’t avoid the crash by Tejay van Garderen (BMC), who was covering the downhill just before him.

Betancur managed to complete the stage, crossing the line 12 minutes after the winner, before being transferred to the University Hospital of Sagunto.

The Colombian underwent there a CT scan and radiological checks to his pelvis, which ruled out any damage to his head and hip. However, X-ray tests on his right ankle revealed a fracture to the external malleolus, which required a plaster cast that will prevent Betancur from continuing in the 2017 Vuelta.

Betancur has later been moved to the La Fe hospital in Valencia, in order to have surgery to his face to heal the wounds produced by the crash.

Betancur had become the Movistar Team’s main chance for the overall classification following the crash suffered by Daniel Moreno at Tarragona’s finale on stage four Tuesday.